"Winnie yuasa, a sixth grader at OSA, has a specific view on what Sanctuary means to her."-- Lottie Mills, 7th grade
Oakland School for the Arts in downtown Oakland has a different school theme every year for its April all-school show. This year, the theme is Sanctuary. Sanctuary can be a place, like an animal sanctuary, but sanctuary can also be an idea. A place where you feel safe and free. For Winnie Yuasa, sanctuary is a space that is peaceful and not chaotic.
However, Yuasa’s sanctuary isn’t necessarily a physical place. “It's like… you know like fantasy realms?” she said when asked. “It’s basically just going into one of those.” For Yuasa, going into her own world is her sanctuary, a place where it is calm and quiet. One of those realms is the world of writing. When asked why, she said, “my brain can be kind of chaotic sometimes, and being able to write it down helps.” Writing, especially fiction, is a sanctuary for Yuasa.
Yuasa doesn’t feel like she needs sanctuary at the moment, but if she did, it would help her calm down. Right now, in our world, lots of people feel like they need a sanctuary. A place to calm down, where you don’t have to worry about other people. A place where you can just be yourself, and not worry about what people will think of you. Yuasa’s sanctuary, the world of writing, and the world of fantasy, are places that fit those needs. We should all find a place where we feel safe.
However, Yuasa’s sanctuary isn’t necessarily a physical place. “It's like… you know like fantasy realms?” she said when asked. “It’s basically just going into one of those.” For Yuasa, going into her own world is her sanctuary, a place where it is calm and quiet. One of those realms is the world of writing. When asked why, she said, “my brain can be kind of chaotic sometimes, and being able to write it down helps.” Writing, especially fiction, is a sanctuary for Yuasa.
Yuasa doesn’t feel like she needs sanctuary at the moment, but if she did, it would help her calm down. Right now, in our world, lots of people feel like they need a sanctuary. A place to calm down, where you don’t have to worry about other people. A place where you can just be yourself, and not worry about what people will think of you. Yuasa’s sanctuary, the world of writing, and the world of fantasy, are places that fit those needs. We should all find a place where we feel safe.
